Safe.



0. W. BEDELL.

SAFE.

APPLICATION FILED 1EB.19, 190s.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

i: ii

l g i E WITNEES:

7 EyFfll .5 I w W4 v I ATTORNEY ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ORLANDO W. BEDELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ELY-NORRIS SAFE COMPANY, OF PERTH AMBOY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SAFE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ORLANDO W. BEDELL,

a citizen of the United States, residing in,

the city of New York, county of Richmond, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to safes, vaults and the like, and the object of the invention is to effect certain improvements in the construction of the doors of safes and vaults with respect particularly to the devices whereby the combination lock is operated from the exterior of the door.

In safes and vaults it is common to provide a combination look within or on the inner face of the door and a shaft or spindle connected to this look passes through an opening in the door and is provided with a handle on its outer end for turning it to operate the lock. The provision of these moving parts which may be manipulated from the exterior of the door and an opening extending through the door to receive the spindle has always introduced an element of weakness, as it involves an additional crack into which an explosive in liquid or gaseous form may be injected, since the spindle and the parts connected thereto may usually be broken more easily than the door itself and access to the interior of the safe in that way gained. For this reason the construction and arrangement of the parts extending through the door and connecting with the combination lock for operating the latter are of great importance. In accordance with my invention, connecting devices from the exterior of the door to the combination lock are provided which are of an improved construction, this being characterized by marked simplicity, great strength and capacity to efiectually resist rupture and derangement of the parts from the exterior of the door; furthermore, with my improved construction, the parts may be readily assembled and for this reason, as well as for the reasons that but a small number of parts are employed and these are of simple for the cost of production is quite low.

In some instances, the doors of safes and vaults have been provided with chambers therein, preferably nearer the front than the rear face, for the expansion of gases present in an explosion, so that in such a safe, an explosion would result in blowing ofi the portion of the door forward of the chamber and leaving the portion in rear thereof intact. In the preferred embodiment of my invention, this construction of door is adopted and the combination lock is placed within this chamber; in this case, the spindle passing through the forward portion of the door has its inner end bearing against the inner wall of the chamber to assist in positively positioning the spindle.

The preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a portion of the door and wall of a safe and Fig. 2 is a detail View hereinafter referred to, partly in elevation and partly in section.

Referring to these drawings, 1 indicates the wall of asafe formed to have the door 2 coact therewith to close the safe with a tight joint. The door 2 is of any suitable construction and may be arranged to swing to the closed position on pivots and then turn on its axis to lock it. In the door 2 are one or more chambers 3, the several chambers preferably connnunicating and being located somewhat nearer the front than the rear face of the door. These chambers permit of the expansion and combustion therein of the gases present in an explosion and such explosion and expansion of gases, if sufliciently severe, will result in blowing off the portion of the door in front of the chambers and leaving the portion in rear thereof intact. The door is preferably held in place by two looks, a time-lock 4: and a combination lock 5, the former being secured to the rear face of the door and the latter being mounted within the chamber 3. The time-lock 4 is adapted to control the movement of bolts 6, said bolts being adapted to be moved radially of the door in suitable guides 7 on the door, such movement carrying the ends of the bolts into and out of openings in the door-jamb. The combination lock 5 is of the usual or any suitable construction and operates to move bolts 8 radially of the door in suitable guides to carry their ends into and out of openings in the door-jamb. The lock 5 here shown has a group of notched tumbler disks with which a lever 18 cooperates to move the bolts 8. The first one of the notched tumbler disks is provided with a gear 9 by which it is directly rotated and inter-connecting mechanism is provided between the several tumthe front face ofthe door and this opening; receives. and forms. a. bearing for a spindle 10bywhich the combination lock is operated.

Theouter end of thespindleisreduced and squared to: receive an: operating handle 11,

the edge of which is provided with scale markingsand: cooperates with marks on an:

annulus. secured. to thezface of the door. At

itsinnerend, spindle 10:is provided with aninte al threaded portion 12 and, beyond this att' eiextreme end ofthe spindle, is an integnal: bearing-piece 13 of polygonal: section, here shown as square. Threaded onthe portion; 12 is a sleeve 14 the'bore of which is suitablythreaded and on the exterior of this sleeveis formed an integral gear 15'. A cap 16 lies. against the end of sleeve 14 and has bear-ing piece 13 extends. At its edge, cap

' l6' hasian integralflange overlying the sleeve 14: as. shown, and screws. 17 pass through openingsinthisflange and. into tapped openings in sleeve 141tohold. the sleeve and cap together, screwsv 17" lying at a right angle to the axis-of the-spindle. These partsare assembled by placing the cap 16 on sleeve 14 but. not fastening it with screws 17 then passing.- the. two parts. into the chamber 3 and holding-themin position, aswith a long pair of pincers, and then inserting the spindle 10".: inits opening. until its end enters the 7 opening 1n-sleeve:1'4-. Then by turning the spindle, the threads on the portion 12 and on the sleeve engage and draw the spindleinward-until" its:v reduced end passes through the opening-in: cap 16.- During the further turning-- movement of. spindle 10, cap 16 turns with; it and the spindle is drawn inwardly. until its. inner'end bears against the inner wall ofthe chamber 3; With the holes in cap 16 and sleeve: 14- in alinement, the screws: 17* are inserted in position and ti htenedIto-hold thetwo partstogether.

t will: be. seen: that: by this construction,

. the spindlelO, while free to berotated in-the opening-.in-the door, is positively held against axilal'movement, smeesuchmovement In one direction is precluded by the coaction of bearing-piece 13, which may be, of hardened steel, withthe-inner'wallof the chamber 3,

and; in the other direction by the sleeve 14 which. is of, greater diameter. than the openingin the-doorfor= the spindle and therefore bearszagainsti the outer. wall of: chamber 3. Spindle: 10 cannot. be turned relatively. to

sleeve 14 because of the coaction of the squared piece 13, integral with the spindle with the opening in cap 16 and the screws 17 securing the cap to the sleeve; any turning movement of spindle 10 must therefore result in turning sleeve 14, gear 15, gear 9 and one or more of the tumbler disks. The construction is simple and the number of parts quite small, sothat the manufacturing cost is low; also, the strength and arrangement of the parts of the: structure is such that the danger of breaking or displacing the parts and thereby operating;- or breaking thelock toreleasethe door'is-reduced to a minimum.

Having now described my invention, what Iv claim; asnew thereinv and. desire to secure by LettersPatent is. as follows:

1. In a safe, a: door, a spindle passing therethrough. having a portion provided with. a flattened wall, a sleeve on said spindle-, a. cap. having an. opening therethrough. to. receive said: spindle and. formed,

tocoact with. said flattened wall. to preclude turning of the cap on the spindle, means for securing the cap and. spindle together; and lock-operating meanson said sleeve, substantially as set forth. a squareopening. therein through which the 2. In a safe, a door having a. chamber therein intermediate the front: and; rear faces thereof, a spindle passing: through an open.

ing. in thedoor from the front face thereof as. said chamber and provided. with a. flattened wall, a. sleeve on. said spindle,,a.1nem.- ber provided; with an opening to receive said spindle and formed to coact with said flattened; wall. to. preclude turning of, the member-onv the spindle, means for securing the member. and, spindle. together,v and lQCke operating means' on said sleeve, substantiallyasset forth.

3. In 'a, safe, a; door, a spindle; passing throughv an opening. therein: and, having an integral threaded. portion and anintegral portion of polygonal cross-section, a. sleeve threaded. on said threaded. portion, a cap having an opening-therein. corresponding 1n shape to. said portion of polygonal crosssection and, through which said; portion ex.- tends, said cap lying adj acent to one end of said; sleeve, screws securing: the cap and sleeve together and lying atsubstantially. a right angle to the axisof the: spindle, and lock-operating means on said sleeve, substantially as set. forth.

4. In a safe, a door having. a chamber therein intermediate the: front and rear faces thereof, a spindle passing; through an opening in. the doorfrom the" front: face thereof to said chamben ai sleeve on the inner endofsaid spindle within said chamber, meansfor connecting the sleeve andispindle and positively preventing relative movement thereof, and lock-operatingmeans on said sleeve, substantially as set: forth;

5. In a safe, a. door; havinga chambw therein intermediate the front and rear faces thereof, a spindle passing through an opening in the door from the front face thereof to said chamber, the end of said spindle bearing against the inner Wall of said chamber, a sleeve of greater diameter than said opening threaded on said spindle Within said chamber, means for connecting the sleeve and spindle and positively preventing relative movement thereof, and lock-operating means on said sleeve, substantially as set forth.

6. In a safe, a door having a chamber therein intermediate the front and rear faces thereof, a spindle passing through an opening in the door from the front face thereof to said chamber and having a portion provided with a flattened Wall, the end of said spindle bearing against the inner wall of said chamber, a sleeve of greater diameter than said opening on said spindle within said chamber, a member on the spindle within the chamber coacting with said flattened wall to prevent turning of the member relatively to the spindle, means for securing said member to said sleeve, and lock-operating means on said sleeve, substantially as set forth.

7. In a safe, a door having a chamber therein intermediate the front and rear faces thereof, a spindle passing through an opening in the door from the front face thereof to said chamber and having an integral threaded portion thereon Within said chamber and a portion provided with a flattened Wall and bearing against the inner wall of said chamber, a sleeve threaded on said threaded portion, a cap on the spindle adj acent to said sleeve and coacting with said flattened wall, screws securing the cap to the sleeve and lying at substantially a right angle to the axis of the spindle, and lockoperating means on said sleeve, substantially as set forth.

8. A safe having a door adapted to enter an opening in the wall thereof, and composed of two or more integral door sections having a chamber between them extending outwardly adjacent to the periphery of the door, a combination lock mounted upon said door within said chamber,'means for operating the combination look from the exterior of the door, and a time-lock independent of said combination lock mounted on the rear face of the rear section of said integral door, each of said locks having its individual boltwork, and the ends of the bolts of both of said locks being adapted to coact With the door-jamb to secure the door in the closed position, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 17th day of February, 1908.

ORLANDO W. BEDELL.

W'itnesses:

NIARGARET HARNED, CAROLYN NEER. 

